Aaron Grant once took the stage across from me, making eye contact but planting his feet firmly just beyond the stage right wing. I mirrored him on stage left. He mimed the classic flirtatious fishing move. I played his fish but broke his line bashfully, the stage's distance remaining between us. I danced as someone […]
Nothing bugs me more than a scene where two improvisers meet stage center, stare only at each other and talk only to and about each other. I get it. Your stage partner is truly the only other active element on stage with you. But, c'mon, show some imagination. The audience likes to see us interact […]
Objective: This exercise is about channeling personal memories to evoke details and define mime.
The surprise inherent to improvisation is made even more satisfying when we’re specific in-the-moment. If we are too cautiously vague or too ungrounded in grasping for hilarity, then we deny the scene, our partners and the audience the power inherent in the specificity of The Details that allows a world to form from the nothing on […]
When we fill a blank stage with objects and an environment through committed mime, the world we create becomes that much more engaging, for players and audience members alike. The audience loves to be able to "see" what we create on stage. And if we really look at what we create on stage, we'll find it […]
RED BALL, RED BULL, BREAD BOWL – With the group in a circle, a player starts by saying, "Dustin, Red Ball" then mimes throwing to that player who catches it, says "Red Ball, Thank you" then passes it by saying "Lauren, Red Ball." Then you add more pretend balls/objects and try and keep them all […]
Objective: When we see, touch, smell and REACT to our environment, the audience can, too. If nothing else, be deliberate - your commitment to engaging the environment will enable the audience to accept any weird ass thing you do.
MAGIC CLAY – Around a circle, a player builds a mimed object “out of clay” and then hands the object to another player who interacts with it as and then molds the “clay” into a brand new object. And repeat. Variations: • Weaponized Reactions - form a weapon out of the magic clay, attack another […]
Mime: Weight, volume and tension are the key characteristics of a mimed object that help players and the audience “see” the object. If nothing else, be deliberate - your commitment to engaging the environment will enable the audience to accept any weird ass thing you do. Suggested Exercises: INVISIBLE TUG OF WAR - Everybody has […]